The other day I got into an argument on social media with someone because they said that "chicken pox is not a big deal". Now, to a certain extent I agree with this as only 1% of chicken pox patients end up with complications. But, there is still a smaller population that we share this earth with that don't have such a luxury to contract infections and be able to bounce back so its important to spread awareness and to debunk this idea that chicken pox is "relatively harmless".
For instance, for people who have weakened immune systems due to chemotherapy or pregnancy, contracting chicken pox and other infectious and highly contagious diseases can be life-threatening. The statistic, according to the CDC is something like 40% of women that contract chicken pox while pregnant die. I realize that this is not such a scary statistic since cases like that do not represent a significant portion of the population. However, the point is that people don't seem to think that contracting chicken pox can be life-threatening and they proliferate this idea that certain infectious diseases are harmless because it doesn't pose a significant risk to the general population.
Now, you may be thinking, but aren't most chemotherapy patients hospitalized during that time? Not always, there are various versions of chemotherapy treatments out there. Oral chemotherapy, while expensive, and represents only 10% or so of chemotherapy treatments, can be administered at home. So can various other chemotherapy treatments depending on the type of treatment. Anyway, my point is that, you really never know someone's circumstance and it seems ignorant to assume that all cancer patients are "safe" from disease because they are in a hospital. They are people too and they can be discharged after chemotherapy treatments. Cancer patients already have enough on their plate, and now they have to worry about ignorant people incubating chicken pox and walking around without a care in the world because the general population will survive contracting chicken pox.
This brings me to my next point. The chicken pox virus, while it may result in "just a few itchy bumps", can come back with a vengeance in the form of Shingles, because the chicken pox virus just hangs out in your spine. Shingles is something people just shrug off as a more severe case of chicken pox, but what a lot of people don't realize is that in some cases shingles can cause severe nerve damage. Again, the chances are not high that such complications will arise, but what are your odds? What are the odds of your loved ones?
People on social media even went so far as to say that they would be more worried about being hit by a car than contracting chicken pox. But, what would you be more afraid of? A large, loud piece of metal that you can see and hear coming down a road and can consequently avoid? Or something that you can't see, hear or smell such as a contagious disease?
Chicken pox is harmful. It is not an innocuous disease. Yes, if you compare it to other infectious diseases it may not be the most harmful to the general population, but it is for some people. For the general population, the symptoms may be "just a few itchy bumps", but for others it means life or death. Do those people not matter just because there are a few of them? Chicken pox is an infectious and highly contagious disease and should be treated as such. It's an untrue statement to say that it's "not the end of the world" if other people should contract it, because while the entire world may not end, someone else's world could end.
Yes, this post may be a bit over dramatic, but I want to encourage others to consider this perspective and really think about what you would be more afraid of? Something threatening to you that you can see and hear or something threatening to you that you can't see or hear?
-The Lonely Mechanic
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